Brisbane’s Olympics is causing major Gold Coast road upgrades to be put on backburner

The 2032 Olympic Games is sparking a funding row between council and the Queensland Government, putting Gold Coast upgrades on the backburner. FULL DETAILS >>>

THE 2032 Olympic Games is sparking a funding row between council and the state government as road upgrades planned five years ago are on the backburner for more planning.

The council is being forced to rescope an upgrade of one of the city’s most dangerous intersections at Robina Town Centre and Laver drives.

Planned five years ago and funded in council’s June budget, the upgrade will now go through a redesign due to the Olympic Games satellite athletes village being proposed nearby.

Costs for the fully funded $5.9m upgrade to the intersection could skyrocket to more than $30m if the council is forced to consider a bridge across a railway intersection.

Robina councillor Hermann Vorster is furious about the delays and recommends council undertake a separate investigation outlining the Olympic infrastructure costs and challenges in the lead-up to future government talks.

Councillors will debate the recommendation at a full council meeting on Tuesday, but at an earlier transport committee meeting debate about the Olympics caused divisions in the chamber.

Planning chair Cameron Caldwell said he had asked acting council CEO Joe McCabe to keep track of Olympics costings.

“We need to capture that,” he said. “It’s actually not fair on ratepayers that we shuffle it through as business as usual growth when it’s actually Games related.”

Council transport director Alton Twine admitted that officers were ready to start work on fixing the intersection when the Brisbane Games announcement was made.

“It was due to happen. When the announcement came through for the Olympic Games village it forced us to go back and see if that intersection would cope.

“It is a very difficult intersection. We had maxed out design.”

Cr Vorster had pushed for work to start on the intersection aware of the number of “vulnerable” pedestrians from the health and education precinct using it.

The intersection had about 600 unregulated pedestrian movements at a roundabout carrying 30,800 vehicle movements daily, he said.

“I’m doing nothing other than asking city officers to take the funding that we have already set aside for this project and use it to get the design right in response to what may unfold at the athletes village. I’m not asking for extra money,” Cr Vorster told colleagues.

Councillor Hermann Vorster “I’m not asking for extra money”. Picture Glenn Hampson.

But Deputy Mayor Donna Gates believes the state government should pay some of the costs because it had chosen the location for the athletes village.

“Why aren’t the state paying the money?,” she asked. “I mean they’ve chosen a location where obviously there are going to be transportation difficulties. Why does the poor old ratepayer have to stump up?”

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